Sam Ricketts expressed his delight at being able to bring in experienced forward Steve Morison on a season-long loan from Millwall.
Shrewsbury Town are delighted to announce the signing of experienced forward, Steve Morrison on a season-long loan from Millwall.
With over 50 appearances in the Premier League for Norwich as well as long spells in the Championship with Leeds United and Millwall, Morrison is looking to bring a wealth of experience and quality to the club. The Forward has a proven track record in Sky Bet League One. During his three seasons in the league, Morison helped achieve promotion twice and in the third season narrowly missed out on promotion after his side lost the play-off final.
Sam explained to Shrewsweb how pleased he was to be bringing in such an experienced professional to the club.
“It’s really good,” said Sam. “It’s a great acquisition for the club. Even though Morison is 35 years of age he’s in excellent condition, he leads the line very well.
“I think he’s one of those players who improves with age. He understands how to be effective in games and has got a proven record not just at this level but at the highest level of football as well.
“He’s a player with real pedigree and certainly doesn’t want to go through the motions. He’s eager to play wants to play which is why we’ve been able to attract him here."
“I think he’s one of those players who improves with age."
Sam is looking forward to seeing what Steve can offer on and off the pitch throughout the season.
“He’ll be a leader on and off the pitch. He brings some real experience to the frontline. He’s a player who knows how to use his body and knows how to hold the ball up, lay it off and where to be at the right time.
“It’s great to help the young players like Fejiri and Udoh who are making their way in the game. They will work with him day in day out, see what he does on and off the pitch.
“The culture and environment of the club is very important to me because ultimately that’s then seen on the pitch on a Saturday. If we have a culture where we are consistently striving to get better and not give up."
Sam revealed the difficulties in acquiring Morison from Millwall because of how highly regarded he is at The Den. Steve made over 250 appearances for the club scoring 67 goals.
“He’s still got another year at Millwall and he’s loved by everyone there from the Chairman, CEO, manager and the fans and rightly so because of what he’s done.
“However he really wants to play and play regularly so that was the big selling point for him. He also bought into what we are trying to do here.
“We’re trying to break the mould and be a bit different. I want to bring continued success to this club and he’s bought into that.
“Nothings easy but a signing like Steve Morison will certainly makes things easier.”
Sam knows Steve well after the two of them played at International level for Wales. Morison made 20 appearances for Wales and Sam stated that he was more than impressed from what he had seen whilst the two played together.
“It’s important you know what the player is about before you sign them. If I don’t know them or not played against them I’ll try and get hold of two or three people who do know them.
“Character and attitude are everything for me. Fortunately, I know Steve’s character and attitude will be very important every day.”